This invention relates to vehicle maintenance devices, and more particularly to a cart with a rigid base, a rigid cradle, a retainer on the cradle for holding a vehicle wheel securely in place thereon, and an adjustable-height lift coupled between the base and the cradle adapted to provide superior operator safety and ease-of-use, by means of: a design usable with vehicles elevated at various heights and fitted with various types of wheels; mechanisms engineered to eliminate awkward, dangerous, and injurious maneuvers when removing or installing a vehicle wheel; a lift actuator responsive to minimal force; a storage area for tools and wheel parts; and a compact, easy to maintain and transport chassis superior to large, fixedly-mounted wheel maintenance devices.
The prior art includes: U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,343A (Feb. 10, 1976); U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,287A (Apr. 20, 1976); CA Patent No. CA1037434A (Aug. 29, 1978); U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,405A (Aug. 30, 1983); U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,142A (Feb. 18, 1986); U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,605A (Sep. 1, 1987); CN Application No. CN2044950U (Sep. 27, 1989); CN Patent No. CN2170293Y (Jun. 29, 1994); FR Patent Application No. FR2847222A1 (May 21, 2004); U.S. Patent Application No. 20060181057A1 (Aug. 17, 2006); U.S. Patent Application No. 20090136329A1 (May 28, 2009); U.S. Pat. No. 7,597,524B2 (Oct. 6, 2009); U.S. Pat. No. 7,611,126B2 (Nov. 3, 2009); KR Patent No. KR1020100129408A (Dec. 9, 2010); U.S. Patent Application No. 20120057954A1 (Mar. 8, 2012); U.S. Pat. No. 8,172,255B1 (May 8, 2012); DE Patent Application No. DE102011117669A1 (May 8, 2013); CA Application No. CA2882344A1 (Aug. 20, 2015); U.S. Patent Application No. 20150290972A1 (Oct. 15, 2015); PCT Application No. WO2016038117A1 (Mar. 17, 2016); and U.S. Patent Application No. 20160325586A1 (Nov. 10, 2016). It is desirable to have an improved cart that is superior to any that is disclosed or suggested in the identified references.